mall

The Mall at University Town Center is giving children a chance to train for Santa’s flight crew this holiday season.

The shopping center on Nov. 11 will debut “Santa’s Flight Academy,” which mall staff describes as an immersive holiday experience that combines a giant reimagination of the North Pole with state-of-the-art technology so children can see how Santa flies his sleigh.

Participants will partner with an elf — either “George” the sleigh mechanic, “Sparkle” the flight director or “Flash” the reindeer caretaker — and together they’ll help prepare Santa’s sleigh so he can deliver presents to children around the world.

“We are thrilled to offer Santa’s Flight Academy to give our guests an immersive holiday experience,” Octavio Ortiz, the mall’s general manager, said in a news release. “The holidays are a time for creating special memories and we’re confident children will be delighted with this new adventure that will surely become a tradition for years to come.”

When each child “cadet” enters the flight academy they’ll present their official flight crew badge. The cadets will be identified by name as Santa’s helpers fit them for a virtual flight suit, which they will see themselves wearing in a mirror, and lead them through sleigh inspection and powering procedures.

Then the children will step inside of a 22-foot-tall sleigh for a snowfall dance party before meeting Santa. Children will receive a gift from Santa to thank them for their help with the sleigh.

Santa’s Flight Academy will be at The Mall at University Town Center and 11 other malls developed by Taubman until Christmas Eve.

Demand is expected to be high, mall staff said, so visitors should pre-register children online via each shopping center’s website at mallatutc.com/holidays or through the mall’s mobile app available for Android and Apple devices.

Registration will also be available at Santa’s Flight Academy kiosks at the mall.\

The Westfield Southgate mall has reopened its north entrance off U.S. 41 just in time for the holiday shopping season.

The U.S. 41 entrance near CineBistro, Art Avenue and Ann Taylor Loft has been blocked off since the construction of four new restaurants began in late July. The entrance, which reopened late last month, allows shoppers traveling south on U.S. 41 to turn into the mall without having to make a U-turn at Bee Ridge Road.

In the coming weeks, the western-most entrance on Siesta Drive, which also was closed for the project, will reopen, too, according to Christa Kremer, the marketing director for Southgate and sister property Westfield Sarasota Square. The construction fence will be moved closer to the mall, which will create additional parking.

The construction, which is on the northwest corner of the mall’s parking lot, is making room for Connors Steak & Seafood, BRAVO! Cucina Italiana, Naples Flatbread and Wine Bar and a fourth restaurant that has yet to be named. The work is the third phase of Australia-based Westfield’s plan to transform the mall into a shopping, dining and entertainment lifestyle center. Naples Flatbread is expected to open in mid-2017 and two other restaurants could launch by the end of next year.

Construction also is underway in Southgate’s former Dillard’s anchor, which has been vacant since the department store chain opened its new store at the Mall at University Town Center in 2014. The Dillard’s site is separately owned by Siesta Retail LLC, which is a subsidiary of Manatee County-based Benderson Development Co.

LA Fitness is slated to open in 37,000 square feet of the 96,000-square-foot space sometime this spring. Commercial building permits were filed on Monday for an estimated $115,000 in work for the new fitness center’s swimming pool.

Documents filed with Sarasota County indicate that Naples-based Clive Daniel Home has expressed interest in 33,000-square-feet of the anchor space, but that permit is still pending.

Niwot, Colorado-based Lucky’s Market, an organic grocer, has been reported to be a possible tenant.

Kiehl’s, a skincare and cosmetics chain, will open its first store in Southwest Florida in the Mall at University Town Center.

The company, which began as a single-store pharmacy in New York City in 1851, now has more than 250 retail storefronts worldwide, and sells beauty product lines in high-end department stores and some airports. Kiehl’s was purchased by the L’Oreal Group in 2000.

Kiehl’s offers products for both men and women and is known for having a large male clientele base. The company’s products are geared toward a younger demographic.

The chain sells skincare, cosmetics and hair products.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

This will be the company’s first full-line store in Southwest Florida. Kiehl’s products are sold in Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard’s, and Neiman Marcus stores in the Tampa Bay area and at Saks Fifth Avenue at Southgate Mall in Sarasota.

Kiehl’s joints other retailers like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and H&M, among many others, that the Herald-Tribune reported reported would open their first stores in Southwest Florida inside the $315 million luxury mall. The two-story, 880,000-square-foot center being developed by Taubman Centers and Benderson Development, will open in October.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Women and men’s apparel retailer, Express, will open a new store inside the Mall at University Town Center.

Express operates two existing stores in Sarasota – in both of Westfield Group’s Sarasota Square and Southgate malls. It is unclear at this time if Express will close their existing stores once the 880,000-square-foot Mall at University Town Center opens in October.

The $315 million mall project is under construction at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. Express joins other national chains, like Gymboree, Pottery Barn, Brooks Brothers and American Eagle Outfitters, which already have stores in the Sarasota market, that have committed to the new mall.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Teavana, a chain of stores that sells loose leaf teas from around the world, will open its first location in Sarasota inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The Atlanta-based chain of tea stores, which sells white, green, black, herbal, oolong, roobios and other kinds of tea, will open its 25th store in Florida, and first in Southwest Florida, in October, according to building permits filed with Sarasota County . The 880,00-square-foot mall, under construction at University Parkway and Interstate 75, has attracted many national tenants that are new to the region, including Apple, Anthropologie, Omega watch boutique, Tiffany’s & Co. and others. Teavana is known for having stores in upscale shopping malls. The company operates stores in every major mall in the Tampa Bay area, and one and in Naples.

In late 2012, Starbucks acquired the Tevana brand for $620 million.Last year, Starbucks debuted its Tevana bar concept in New York City, which merged the bakery and cafe atmosphere aspects of a Starbucks with the Teavana’s “wall of tea” feature and brighter theme.

The Mall at University Town Center is being developed by Manatee County-based Benderson Development and Taubman Centers. The Southwest Florida mall is expected to be the only enclosed mall to open this year come October.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Champs Sporting Goods will open a store inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The sporting shoe, apparel and accessories chain will open its fifth store in Southwest Florida inside the 880,000-square-foot mall, which is under construction at University Parkway and Interstate 75. The mall is scheduled to open in October.

Champs Sporting Goods joins Foot Locker, which are operated by the same parent company, at the new $315 million mall. Champs will join a slew of other national tenants, like Apple, Anthropologie, Brooks Brothers lululemon and nearly 100 others, inside the mall being built by Manatee County-based Benderson Development and Taubman Centers.

Kona Grill is one of the seven chain restaurants that have committed to opening inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The steak and sushi restaurant will open a7,679-square-foot indoor restaurant with a 1,638-square-foot outdoor patio at the 880,000-square-foot mall under construction at University Parkway and Interstate 75, building permits filed with Sarasota County shows. Kona Grill joins Seasons 52, Capital Grille, Cheesecake Factory, Brio Tuscan Grill and Zinburger at the $315 retail project being developed by Taubman Centers and Manatee County-based Benderson Development.

The chain boasts 26 locations nationwide, including a restaurant near Tampa’s International Plaza.

Other tenants include Apple, Athropologie, Brooks Brothers and more than 100 others. More than half the mall’s tenant mix will be new to the region, mall officials say. The Mall at University Town Center will be anchored by Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard’s.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays

A wine and burger bar concept will be the seventh restaurant to open inside the Mall at University Town Center.

Building permits filed with Sarasota County this week shows that the restaurant chain plans to open its third store in Florida at the $315 million mall under construction at University Parkway and Interstate 75. The Phoenix-based chain operates about 10 stores across the country, including two which are in development in South Florida.

The Florida locations are owned and operated by Briad Group, one of the country’s largest franchisees of brands like TGIFridays, Hilton, Marriot and Wendy’s. Briad Group has a licensing agreement with Fox Restaurant Concepts, the creator of the restaurant brand, to open franchise locations in the U.S. east of the Mississippi, said Tom Beyer, spokesman for ZinBurger.

ZinBurger locations are usually in upscale malls or around larger retail centers, Beyer said. The South Florida locations will open inside Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, one of the nation’s largest outlet shopping destinations by square foot, and the Boca Town Center Mall in Palm Beach County.

The chain has been expanding aggressively in the southeastern region, and plans to open an additional store in Atlanta this year, Beyer said.

Zinburger‘s menu features a full bar with cocktails, 18 wines by the glass and 17 local craft beer selections. The chain’s classic “Zinburger” comes with manchego cheese and zinfandel braised onions. The menu boasts handmade milkshakes, salads and other entrees.

Zinburger will join several other chain restaurants that have committed to opening inside the 880,000-square-foot Mall at University Town Center, like Capital Grille, Brio Tuscan Grille, the Cheesecake Factory, Kona Grill and Seasons 52.

Other tenants include Apple, Athropologie, Brooks Brothers and more than 100 others. More than half the mall’s tenant mix will be new to the region, mall officials say. The Mall at University Town Center will be anchored by Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard’s.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.